Cocktails & Popcorn: "The Elected Ones" Ask "The Elected Ones" To Investigate The Detroit Land Bank Authority For Election Interference & Dirty Dirt

Have you ever sat on your front porch, on a warm summer's afternoon, sipping on a jasmine tea, to witness the beauty of asbestos fibers from the wrapped 1920's lead pipes that Fred & Sons stripped the night before the tear down, blowing down the street, like miniture, urban tumble weeds, as the neighborhood kids thrown rocks into to stagnant pool of a demolished basement?

Probably not which is why everyone knows Detroit is the dumping grounds of the region.

It is a well known fact that DEQ does not give a flying rats arse about how demolitions go on in Detroit, including Hamtramck.

I have pictures, but this one will do because it is much more recent.

Have you ever tried to put your shovel in the ground to grow vegetables on the side lot next to your home only to find out it was backfilled with concrete chucks, and stuff?

Well, if you did, you would know what the Saddy face feels like.

You would think they could have at least put more than 4.5 inches of clean fill dirt over it.

And people wonder why Detroit is #1 in the world for infant mortality, concentration of highest rates of autism, child cognitive and developmental psychological disabilities, child poverty and the trafficking of tiny humans.

Stop stealin' the children, the land and the votes.

The best part about this investigative request is that "The Elected Ones" who are asked to look into the Detroit Land Bank Authority participated in some of the activities of this ham Sandwich, because it never incorporated, because it is the Corporate Shape Shifter that gerrymandered the voting districts and participated in the interference of the 2016 & 2018 Elections.

"Do not drink that Detroit Land Bank Authority cocktail!" ,said Derrick Pratt

Michigan lawmaker: Alleged tainted dirt at demolition sites 'alarming'

Michigan State Rep. LaTanya Garrett is calling for state-level hearings to discuss the "alarming" findings of a Monday Free Press investigation that detailed a widening federal probe of Detroit's demolition program.

The Free Press reported Monday that contaminated dirt was potentially used to fill demolition sites across the city and is the focus of a criminal probe being conducted by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).

Garrett's request comes one day after Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Mary Sheffield requested a U.S. congressional hearing be held to discuss the city's federally-funded demolition program. Sheffield's request was sent to U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaiba and Brenda Lawrence.

Garrett, a Democrat, formally submitted a request Wednesday to Republican State Rep. Hank Vaupel, who is the chair of the House's Health Policy Committee, asking for a special hearing to discuss the Free Press' findings.

Read more: Detroit official calls for congressional hearing on demolition program

Read more: Was contaminated dirt used to fill Detroit demolition holes? Feds ask

"On Feb. 11, Detroit Free Press reporter Katrease Stafford wrote an eye-opening article regarding the possibility that contaminated dirt was being used by contractors hired by the Detroit Land Bank Authority to fill holes after vacant structures have been demolished," Garrett wrote in her request to Vaupel and other House members. "The information contained in this article is very alarming considering the health, safety, and well-being of the residents that are in close proximity to said properties may have been compromised."

Garrett, who represents part of northwest Detroit and Highland Park, said she believes the issue should be addressed by the health committee--which she is a member of.

In the letter, Garrett requested that representatives from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority,  Michigan Homeowner Assistance Nonprofit Housing Corporation, Detroit Land Bank and Detroit Building Authority be present to provide testimony on "this important public issue."

The city's demolition program is managed by the Land Bank and the Detroit Building Authority under a structure Mayor Mike Duggan put in place after he was elected in 2014.

More than $250 million from the Hardest Hit Fund has been allocated to Detroit for its demolition program since Mayor Mike Duggan began his aggressive effort to tackle blight across the city. MHA, which manages the state's Hardest Hit Fund dollars, said its disbursed more than $176 million in federal funds to demolish 10,755 properties. Detroit has the largest demolition program of its kind in the nation.

"The residents of the City of Detroit deserve to know whether contaminated dirt has been used to fill holes in their respective neighborhoods," Garrett wrote. "Considering the Detroit Land Bank Authority receives its demolition funds from the federal government through the State of Michigan’s nonprofit agency, MHA, which is housed in the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MHSDA), I believe it is more than appropriate that this very serious matter be addressed on the state level."

Garrett told the Free Press she is also introducing a resolution during next week's session to request either the oversight committee or government operations committee to conduct hearings on "alleged mismanagement of federal funds disbursed by MHA to the Land Bank."

“The state of Michigan has a responsibility to the citizens of the city of Detroit to ensure that the federal demolition funds are being spent appropriately," Garrett said. "To say the least, in light of this most recent information, the Detroit City Council needs to step up and provide more oversight of the use of the Hardest Hit Funds by the Detroit Land Bank Authority.”

SIGTARP is also probing whether some companies used free dirt obtained from a variety of unverified sources—  including the I-96 freeway construction project — and then passed it off as an approved residential dirt source before billing the Detroit Land Bank for materials they never actually paid for, sources said.

The Free Press interviewed multiple sources for its Monday story who have been close to the investigation but requested anonymity because they haven’t been authorized to speak publicly. 

And in its first public acknowledgement of the probe, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality confirmed to the Free Press Tuesday that it was aware of the nature of the investigation and the "potential use of I-96 soils as backfill in residential areas" in Detroit.

The federal probe has long been shrouded in mystery since it was reported in the fall of 2015 that demolition prices had risen as much as 60 percent under Duggan's administration.

The Free Press previously reported that suspicions of bid rigging arose in the summer of 2016 during a forensic audit of the demolition program performed by two firms hired by the state — Holland & Knight and Ernst & Young. A state official later said in 2017 that it "didn't see any bid rigging." The suspicions coincided with a three-month suspension of the city's demolition program imposed by the U.S. Treasury.

The investigation into dirt usage and billing is the latest layer of the ongoing SIGTARP and previously reported FBI investigations.

Subpoenas were issued to as many as 10 contractors in late January, commanding them to produce all original documents related to dirt they obtained for numerous contracts awarded between 2016 and 2018. The issuance of subpoenas was first reported by Deadline Detroit in late January.

DBA Director Tyrone Clifton said in a statement published on the city's website Tuesday that "recent questions about the DBA’s efforts to ensure the use of clean fill dirt on its demolitions have no basis in fact."

"At no time has any federal agency ever suggested that the city has been lax in its efforts to ensure that clean dirt is used in all of its demolitions," Clifton said.

Federal agents visited Detroit just months ago to interview multiple companies who have performed work in the program, sources confirmed.

The exact number of potential sites where unverified dirt has been used overall is not yet fully known, sources said, raising questions of whether there's a potential environmental impact.

The MDEQ said in its statement to the Free Press that there is not "a public health risk from this soil" but environmental experts say concerns remain.

Separately, one contractor, city officials confirmed last week to the Free Press, was recently ordered to dig up dozens of sites across the city that were filled with "unverified backfill" dirt.

Asked whether it was concerned about any potential public exposure, the city said public health and safety is a "top priority."

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